WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden delivered a solemn speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday, laying out in the clearest terms yet why he has given up his re-election campaign.
He wanted to send an unmistakable warning about the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as he anointed Vice President Kamala Harris as his natural successor, without striking an overtly political tone that would have been out of place in the official setting of the White House. He was determined to show that he would not behave like a lame duck president, and outlined an ambitious agenda that underscored his determination to build on his legacy.
Here are the key points from Biden’s speech:
He warned about Trump – without mentioning him by name
Biden didn’t mention Trump, his former Republican opponent, in his 10-minute speech from the Oval Office — but he didn’t have to. The remarks were imbued with a deep sense of urgency about what the outgoing president saw as the stakes of the election.
The beginning of his speech outlined the choices facing voters in November — a contrast that Biden himself had hoped to create during a re-election campaign that he ultimately decided not to pursue.
“Americans will have to choose between forward and backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division,” Biden said. “We must decide whether we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy.”
That last point – democracy – and defending it is “more important than any title,” Biden said.
Biden outlined a hefty to-do list for his final months
The president says he will continue working during the final six months of his term, trying to build on his legacy of sweeping domestic legislation and renewing alliances abroad.
His to-do list was filled with weighty issues. He said he would work to end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home and try to “bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war.” Biden meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
He will continue to work to lower costs for families and defend personal freedoms. He will continue to call out “hate and extremism” and push for an end to gun violence.
He also said he would continue his initiative to eradicate cancer as we know it and push for Supreme Court reforms.
“I’ll keep working,” he said.
He willingly hands over power to a new generation
Biden finally understood what Democrats had been telling him – that it was time to hand power to a younger generation – and he embraced it, calling for “fresh voices, yes, younger voices” in politics.
“I have decided that the best way to move forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It is the best way to unite our nation,” he said, even as he believed his presidency deserved a second term.
For months, Biden insisted that he was the only one who could take on Trump and win. But that changed after his June 27 debate with Trump, when he faltered, lost his train of thought and failed to fact-check the former president’s lies. The performance prompted a chorus of questions about his age and ability to serve another four years in the job, and prompted Democrats to increasingly demand that he step aside. The stalemate dragged on for 24 days before Biden relented, saying he needed to unite his party.
The tone and setting were solemn
Biden is no stranger to the sober delivery of speeches on weighty issues such as the fate of democracy and voting rights at historically significant moments in the country and around the world.
But Biden has used the formal trappings of an Oval Office address — a tool presidents use in times of national crisis or to capture a pivotal moment in history — sparingly. Wednesday’s speech marked only the fourth time he has sat at the Resolute Desk to address the nation directly.
His tone was solemn, his delivery careful and deliberate. He was surrounded by family and close associates as he delivered a speech voluntarily relinquishing power — a speech no politician wants to make.
“The great thing about America is that kings and dictators don’t rule here, people do,” Biden said as he closed his speech. “History is in your hands. Power is in your hands. The idea of America is in your hands.”
Biden made a subtle attempt to rope in his vice president
In the official setting of the Oval Office, Biden steered clear of overt political talk. But he still praised Vice President Kamala Harris as “tough” and “capable” and gave a not-so-subtle nudge to voters.
“She’s been an incredible partner for her leadership, for our country,” he said. “Now the choice is yours, the American people.”
First Lady Jill Biden posted a handwritten note after the president’s speech in which she “thanked those who never wavered, who refused to waver.” She thanked her supporters for the trust they had placed in the president. “Now is the time to place that trust in Kamala.”
Biden, his aides say, knows that if Harris loses, he will be criticized for staying in the race too long and not giving her or any other Democrat time to effectively mount a campaign against Trump. If she wins, she will ensure that his policy victories are secured and expanded, and he will be remembered for his decision to step aside for the next generation of leaders.
